This club-shaped Xylaria species is common on hardwood sticks and logs in the northeastern and midwestern United States. It often has a longer stem structure than other species in the genus, but this feature cannot be relied on to identify it with certainty. The defining features for Xylaria longipes include its medium size, its club-shaped head, the way its surface develops cracks and fissures, and its spores, which feature spiraling germ slits.

Description:

Ecology: Saprobic on decaying hardwood logs and sticks (especially the debris of beech and maples), growing directly from the wood; growing alone or gregariously; causing a soft rot; spring through fall; common in northeastern North America and in the Midwest, but occasionally reported elsewhere on the continent (though it may be absent in tropical areas).

Fruiting Body: 2-8 cm tall; up to 2 cm across; tough; shaped more or less like a club; with a rounded tip; grayish to brownish when young, becoming black with maturity; surface becoming cracked and scaly with maturity; stem often proportionally long, but also frequently short or nearly absent.

Microscopic Features: Spores 13-15 x 5-7 µ; smooth; fusiform; with spiraling germ slits that run the length of the spore.